Drums have been used to store and transport fluids for many years. Wooden barrels have been used for generations to store and transport a wide variety of liquids, e.g. water, wine, etc. Later, steel drums were developed to handle a greater variety of liquids. Hydrocarbons and other chemical products are typically transported in steel drums. More recently, polyethylene drums have been developed to handle hazardous chemical liquids.
With the increase in drum transportation of hazardous chemical liquids, liners resistant to the deleterious effects of hazardous chemicals have been developed for the interior of the drums.
Rigid liners for drums as illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,711 have been used since the 1950s for distribution of hazardous liquids. However, they are difficult to remove from a drum when emptied and are not easily collapsible.
However, the toxicity and other hazardous effects of the liquids stored and transported in drums has required reconditioning of the drums prior to reuse. In effect, an entire industry exists to remove all trace of the contents of drums and safely dispose of the contents. In view of the hazardous nature of many of the liquids found in drums, the problem of disposing of the contents in an ecologically safe manner has arisen.
Flexible liners such as illustrated by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,635,814; 3,409,201; 3,262,628; 3,215,307 and 3,167,210 have been developed and have promise in containing hazardous liquids to facilitate ecologically safe disposal of the liquids.